Decoding the letter Y
The letter Y''', lowercase '''y (pronounced /waɪ/) represents several sounds as a vowel and also the semivowel /j/."semivowel", Collins English Dictionary As a semivowel As a semivowel or consonant "y" represents IPA phoneme /j/. There are very few difficulties with this sound, except that the sequence /juː/ may be spelled with "u", "ue" or "ew", with no "y". See IPA phonetic sequence /juː/ *yacht - yard - yawn - yeast - yellow - yes - yesterday - yet - yield - yob - yogurt - you - young - your - youth - yo-yo *beyond /bɪˈjɒnd/ or /biːˈɒnd/ *canyon - Kenya *lawyer /ˈlɔːjər/ or /ˈlɔɪər/ - sawyer /ˈsɔːjər/ or /ˈsɔɪər/ As a vowel As a single letter The letter Y, as most vowel letters in English, has four basic pronunciations, identical to those of the letter I: *So-called “short i”, IPA phoneme /ɪ/, as in gym, hymn, system or lyrics *So-called “long i”, IPA phoneme /aɪ/, as in cry, cycle or pyromaniac *Long "yr" monophtong (short vowel spelling), IPA phoneme /ɜː/, as in myrrh *Long "yr" triphthong (long vowel spelling), IPA sequence /aɪə/, as in tyre (US tire) or lyre At the end of a word ;One syllable */aɪ/: by - cry - dry - fly - fry - my - shy - sky - sty - try - why ;Several syllables */aɪ/: ally - apply - classify - July - multiply (verb) - prophesy - satisfy - verify */iː/ or /ɪ/: any - astronomy - biology - bully - chemistry - city - company - country - early - easy - every - family - geology - geography - happy - heresy - many - pity - prophecy - robbery - study - very :Adverbs ending in ''-ly:'' actually - certainly - especially - finally - likely - only - particularly - probably - multiply - really - simply - usually In the middle of the word ;One syllable */ɪ/: gym - hymn - lynx - myth - sync ;Several syllables */aɪ/: analyse /analyze - cycle - g'y'''naecology/g'y'necology - hyphen - hypothesis - myopia - myself - psychologist - Wyoming */ɪ/: crystal - cynic - homonym - physics - syllable - synthetic - sympathy - symptom - system - typical */iː/ or /ɪ/: anyone, anything, anywhere, everyone, everything, everywhere, polygon */ə/: analysis - Pennsylvania - pyjamas ;As a gerund: */aɪ/: die/dying - lie/lying Combined with a vowel With magic e Always as /aɪ/ or /aɪə/ *dye - eye - rye *byte - hype - rhyme - style - thyme - type *analyse /analyze - breathalyse /breathalyze - catalyse /catalyze - paralyse /paralyze For /aɪə/ see In combination with “r” below. ay */eɪ/: away - clay - day - delay - display - essay - gay - gray - hay - holiday - lay - may - May - pay - play - repay - relay - say - stay - today - way */eɪ/ or /ɪ/: Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday - Friday - Saturday - Sunday - yesterday Very often we use "ai" in the middle of the word: raise - train - wait ey *Unstressed final /iː/ or /ɪ/: alley - chimney - donkey - hockey - honey - jockey - journey - Mickey - money - monkey - turkey - valley - Wembley */iː/: key */eɪ/: grey - hey - survey - they Very often we use "ei" in the middle of the word: eight - neighbor - neighbour oy */ɔɪ/: boy - employ - enjoy - joy - ploy - Roy - toy *coyote: /kaɪˈəʊtɪ/ or /kɔɪˈəʊtɪ/ Almost always we use "oi" in the middle of the word: choice - join - point uy */aɪ/: buy - guy In combination with “r” ''Main article: Decoding exercises: "yr" */ɜː/: myrtle - myrrh */ɪ/: lyrics - myriad - pyramid - syringe - syrup */ə/: martyr */aɪ/: thyroid *Sequence /aɪə/: tyre Curiosities Two different pronunciations in same word: gynaecology, psychology Homophones See main article Homophone. * bite - byte; by - buy; die - dye; hay - hey; time - thyme; way - weigh Grammar This section is about words ending in -y pronounced /iː/ or /ɪ/. See also Pronunciation exercises: /ɪ/ vs /iː/ § Unstressed syllable. Many two-syllable adjectives end in -y: *dirty - early - happy - pretty - silly - ugly; In some cases, that y''' is a suffix to nouns and verbs:-y1, Oxford Dictionaries *fog - foggy; fun - funny; grease - greasy; mess - messy; noise - noisy; run - runny; sand - sandy; smell - smelly; stick - sticky; sun - sunny; taste - tasty; wind - windy and, as '''-ly, for adverbs: *firmly - loudly - noisily - quietly - yearly Adverbs ending in '-cally' have a silent a. *automatically, basically, dramatically, specifically, typically "Y" can also form a noun from an adjective: *honesty - jealousy - orthodoxy-y3, Oxford Dictionaries Another typical use is as a noun in itself or as a diminutive or familiar name (the same words can often be spelt "-ie" (auntie/aunty)-y2 Oxford Dictionaries *Bobby - Bobbie; caddy - caddie; footie - footy (football); hippy - hippie; hoody - hoodie; Jimmie - Jimmy; Johnnie - Johnny; tummy (stomach); As a shortening or clipping *Indy (Indianapolis); indie (independent); indyref2 (Scotland's independence referendum number 2); telly (television) See also *Decoding the letter I *Decoding exercises: "ie" *Decoding exercises: "ay" *Decoding exercises: "ey" *Decoding exercises: "oy" References External links *"Is the letter Y a vowel or a consonant?" Oxford Dictionaries y y